War on Screen

Band of Brothers: (the veterans) http://www.dday-overlord.com/eng/band_of_brothers_veterans.htm
The story of the men from the 506 PIR, 101st Airborne, Easy Company
"Ordinary men, an extraordinary story". This sentence summarizes perfectly the D-Day veterans and also the Easy Company veterans and what they have been through in Europe between 1944 and 1945. Steven Spielberg has always been interested in World War II. For example, some of WW2 films are: 1941, Empire of the Sun. That is why he decided to direct the very realistic film Saving Private Ryan, which tells the story of a platoon searching Private Ryan during the battle of Normandy. This movie was a huge success around the world. Saving Private Ryan had to be successful so that Band of Brothers could exist. Thus, there are similarities in terms of direction between Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers with the now famous technique of "shoulder camera" which gives a very realistic impression during the film, including during combat. But it is mainly its respect for historical details (both the script and the fights) which makes Band of Brothers being one of the best World War II series. More than 10.000 participants, 500 actors and a budget of more than $120.000.000 were necessary for its creation which made it one of the most expensive series in history. Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American epic war film set (which takes place) during the Vietnam War. The plot revolves around two US Army special operations officers, one of whom, Captain Benjamin L. Willard (Martin Sheen) of a special operation unit, is sent into the jungle to assassinate the other, the rogue (rebelle) and presumably insane (mad) Colonel Walter E. Kurtz (Marlon Brando) of Special Forces. The film was produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The script is based on Joseph Conrad's novella (a long short-story) Heart of Darkness. The film became notorious (infamous) in the entertainment press due to its lengthy (rather long) and troubled (full of problems) production, as documented (described) in Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse. Marlon Brando showed up to the set overweight and Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack. The production was also beset by extreme weather that destroyed several expensive sets (décors). In addition, the release date of the film was delayed several times as Coppola struggled to come up with an ending and to edit the millions of feet of footage that he had shot. The film won the Cannes Palme d'Or and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama.

All three films condemn war for its bloodshed and the horrors committed on the battlefield for they are all drawn in dark colours such as all shades of gray and black with dark red for AN. The soldiers look/seem small and fragile against the sky which enhances /underlines / highlights their precarious position.

However SPR and BB salute/ highlight the bonds of friendship created between soldiers during the fights such as brotherhood and help, sometimes heroic/ brave actions done to save a fellow soldier from danger even at the cost of one's own life. The light from the horizon creates an impression of hope in the midst of chaos.

On the other hand the poster of Apocalypse Now, especially the one above, while using the same technique as the other two (the faces of two men at the top against a dark cloudy sky, the dark earth at the bottom and the light coming from the horizon line) conveys a completely different message -- that of madness and evil (we are not sure the men are soldiers or crazy people) drenched in blood and fire (the background is red which underlines the impression of bloodshed -river of blood, and napalm destroying men and Nature in Vietnam) represented by the setting sun over the river.